Priming pump



Oct. 28, 1958 4 e. L. FLEHARTY 2,857,

PRIMI NG PUMP Filed April 29, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

Oct. 28, 1958 G. Ll FLEHARTY PRIMING PUMP 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April29, 1955 INVENTOR. rczldl fie/207% L1 66 BY PRllVIlNG PUMP Gerald L.Fleharty, Beatrice, Nelm, assignor to Dempster Mill ManufacturingCompany, a corporation of Nebraska Application April 29, 1955, SerialNo. 504,943

7 Claims. (Cl. 103-113) This invention relates to pumping apparatus andparticularly to the priming of centrifugal pumps.

In the pumping of liquids with centrifugal pumps it is recognized thatone of the most serious operational difficulties is presented by theloss of prime in the pump, and because of this many centrifugal pumpsare provided with priming means of a fairly elaborate character. Thereare, however, many installations where non-priming centrifugal pumps areused, and manual priming is necessary in such instances. Such manualpriming usually involves the use of hand pumps to exhaust air from thenon-priming centrifugal pump, and the labor involved is of courseobjectionable. The primary object of the present invention is thereforeto enable such nonpriming centrifugal pumps to be readily and easilyprimed. Other and related objects are to afford a priming pump that isof a simple and effective structure and which may be readily associatedwith almost any nn-priming centrifugal pump so as to be driven thereby;to afford such a priming pump that is capable of simple and convenientcontrol by the user; and to construct such a priming pump as anattachment that it is compact in structure and effective in operation.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the followingdescription and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawingswhich, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider tobe the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles.Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalentprinciples may be used and structural changes may be made as desired bythose skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a priming pump embodying the features ofthe invention and operatively associated with a non-priming centrifugalpump;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view showing the priming pump in its idleposition; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the primingpump.

For purposes of disclosure the invention is herein illus* trated asembodied in a priming pump that is constructed as an attachment and isshown mounted in an operative association with a known commercial formof non-priming centrifugal pump 11. The centrifugal pump 11 has a base12 upon which a bearing housing 13 is supported, and at its right-handend, as viewed in Fig. 1, the bearing housing 13 is enlarged to afford abell shaped portion 14 terminating in a mounting flange 15. The mountingflange 15 serves to support the pump housing 16 in alignment with thebearing housing 13, and the housing 16 is secured in place on the flange15 by cap screws 17. The pump housing 16 has an axial inlet or intake 18to which an intake pipe 18P- may be connected, and an outlet 19 extendstangentially from the side of atent the housing 16 so that a dischargepipe 19F may be connected thereto. The pump 11 is driven by a main driveshaft 20 supported in the bearing housing 13 and extending through anaxial bearing hub 16H into the pump housing 16, and in the pump 11 aportion of the drive shaft 20 is exposed through one or more accessopenings 14A formed in the bell shaped portion 14.

Under and in accordance with the present invention the priming pump 10is so constructed and arranged that it may be readily and easily mountedon and operatively associated with a non-priming centrifugal pump of theaforesaid character for convenient and readily controllable operation ofthe priming pump 10 from the drive shaft 20 when the main pump 11requires priming. Thus, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the priming pump 10 isof the diaphragm type and is supported by a mounting bracket 25 on themain pump frame for manual movement between two positions so that bysuch shifting movement of the priming pump 10 a simple and inexpensivedriving connection between the main drive shaft 20 and the priming pump10 may be rendered effective or ineffective as desired, and as will bedescribed hereinafter. The bracket 25 is fixed in position on the pump11 as by means of certain of the cap screws 17, as shown in Fig. 1.

The priming pump 10' is shown in detail in Fig. 3 and comprises a frame30 affording a cylindrical head 31 at one end thereof with spacedparallel frame bars 32 extending from one end of the head 31 toward theleft in Fig. 3. At their left ends the bars 32 are connected by aU-shaped yoke 33 having a lug 34 projecting upwardly therefrom in acentral position so that the lug 34 may be supported on the bracket 25by a pivot bolt 35 positioned in any one of several mounting holes 25Hformed in the bracket 25. The yoke 33 provides space within which anactuating means such as an eccentric 36 may be mounted on a stub shaft37 that is mounted in the bars 32, one end of the shaft 37 beingextended to receive an actuating V-pulley 38, as shown in Fig. 1.

The cylindrical head 31 terminates at its right end in a flange 31F sothat the border of a flexible diaphragm 40 may be clamped against theflange 31F by means of a matching cap 41 that is somewhat convex in formand which has an axially projecting handle 41H thereon for purposes thatwill appear hereinafter. The cap 41 is vented as at 41V. The head 31 hastransverse wall portions 31W which define a pump chamber 310 within thehead 31 to the left of the flange 31F, and the diaphragm 40 is flexedtoward and away from the wall portions 31W by an operating rod 42'. Therod 42 is slidable longitudinally in a cross bar 32B and the wallportion 31W and. is connected to the central portions of the diaphragm40 by clamp plates 43 that are disposed on the reduced right-hand end ofthe rod 42 and clamped on the diaphragm 40 by a nut 43N. On its left endthe rod 42 carries a wearing head 42H that is engaged with the eccentric36, an expansive coil spring 45 within the cap 41 acting axially of therod 42 to maintain the head 42H engaged with the eccentric. A seal .suchas an O-ring 142 is preferably provided about the rod 42 within the wall31W.

The pump chamber 31C is provided with an inlet passage 50 and an outletpassage 51 extending through the wall portion 31W, and these passagesare provided respectively with inlet and outlet valves 52 and 53. Thesevalves are of similar construction and comprise threaded mountingsleeves 55 having cross bars 558 and seat flanges 55F. A resilient valvedisk 55D is held against the seat flange 55F by a spring 558. Thisspring acts between thehead of a stud 56 and a pressure plate 57disposed against the valve disk 55D, the stud 56 extending through theplate 57 and the disk 55D and being threaded into the cross bar 55B. Thevalve assemblies are threaded into the wall. portion 31W in reversedrelation.

The inlet passage 50 of the priming pump 10 is internally threaded as at513T so that an. intake connection may readily be established with themain pump chamber of the pump 11. Since the priming pump 10 is adaptedfor shifting movement as above mentioned, this connection is flexible incharacter and may be afforded by a heavy suction hose 58 connected atone end by a pipe 68F and an elbow 58E to the inlet and connected at itsother end by a pipe 158P to the main pump inlet pipe 18P.

In establishing a driving connection for the priming pump 10, a splitV-belt pulley 60 may be secured on the shaft 20.0f the pump 11, and aV-belt 61 encircling this pulley 60 may extend outwardly through theaccess opening14A and about the pulley 38 of; the priming pump 10. Thepriming pump fit) tends normally to rock clockwise about the pivot 35 toan inactive position of Fig. 2, such position being determined byengagement of a part of the frame 30 with the housing of the main pump11, and in such ineffective or inactive position, the belt 61 is looseand may even be removed from the pulley 60 if desired.

When the pump 11 is to be primed, the belt 61 is tightened merely bygrasping the handle 41H and lifting the pump about its pivot 35. This iseasily done, and causes the belt to be tightened so that the primingpump 10 is driven by the main pump shaft 20 and withdraws air from themain pump housing, thus to prime the main pump 11.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the presentinvention provides an extremely simple priming pump attachment that maybe readily and easily associated with most any non-primingcentrifugalpump in such a manner that it may be driven from the mainpump shaftv It will also be apparent that the priming pump of thepresent invention may be easily controlled to effect the desired pumppriming action.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment ofmy invention, it will be understood that variations may be made withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a, priming pump, a priming pump frame having a reciprocable,check-valved air-exhaust pumping means thereon and having a rotatablecross shaft mounted in said frame and operatively associated with saidpumping means for operating the same upon rotation of said cross shaft,a pulley on said cross shaft adapted to be beltdriven from the maindrive shaft of a centrifugal pump, a mounting bracket adapted to besecured in a fixed relation on such a centrifugal pump, means mountingsaid priming pump frame on said bracket on a pivotal axis parallel toand spaced laterally from said cross shaft for rocking movement betweena belt-tightening position and a belt-loosening position, and a handleon said priming pump frame for moving said priming pump frame towardsaid belt-tightening position.

2. In a priming pump, a priming pump frame having a reciprocable,check-valved air-exhaust pumping means thereon and having a rotatablecross shaft mounted in said frame and operatively associated with saidpumping means for operating the same upon rotation of said cross shaft,a pulley on said cross shaft adapted to be beltdriven from the maindrive shaft of a centrifugal pump, a mounting bracket adapted to besecured in a fixed relation on such a centrifugal pump, means mountingsaid priming pump frame on said bracket on a pivotal axis parallel toand spaced laterally from said cross shaft for rocking movement betweena belt-tightening position and av belt-loosening position, said axisbeing so located with respect to the center of gravity of said primingpump frame thatsaid priming pump frame is urged by gravity toward saidbelt-loosening position, and a handle on said priming pump frame formoving. said priming pump frame toward said belt tightening position.

3. In a priming pump adapted for association with a non-primingcentrifugal pump, a priming pump frame having a diaphragm pump at oneend thereof and a rota-,

table cross shaft at the other, check valved inlet and outlet passagesfor said diaphragm pump, means for flexing said diaphragm including anoperative connection from said diaphragm to said cross shaft, a pulleyon said cross shaft adapted to be belt-driven from the main drive shaftof such a centrifugal pump, means for mounting said priming pump frameon a centrifugal pump for movement of said cross shaft toward and awayfrom the main' drive shaft thereof, and means including a handle foreffecting such movement.

4. in a priming pump adapted for association with a non-primingcentrifugal pump, a priming pump frame having a diaphragm pump at oneend thereof and a rotatable cross shaft at the other, check valved inletand outlet passages for said diaphragm pump, means for flexing saiddiaphragm including an operative connection from said diaphragm to saidcross shaft, a pulley on said cross shaft adapted to be belt-driven fromthe main drive shaft of such a centrifugal pump, means for mounting saidpriming pump frame on such a centrifugal pump for gravity-inducedmovement of said cross shaft in one direction laterally toward the maindrive shaft thereof, and a handle on said priming pump frame forimparting belt-tightening movement to said cross shaft in an oppositedirection.

5. A priming pump attachment for a non-priming centrifugal pump toexhaust air therefrom, comprising a frame having a hollow head at oneend and spaced frame bars extending outwardly from said head, a yokeinterconnecting s'aid bars at their outer ends and having means thereonfor pivoted connection to an associated centrifugal pump, a stub shaftjournaled between said outer ends of the bars and having one endextending outwardly of said bars, an eccentric fixed to said stub shaftbetween said bars and a pulley fixed to the outboard portion of theshaft, an actuating rod disposed axially of said frame andlongitudinally between said bars, said head having an internal wallprovided with an aperture slidably receiving said rod, a transverseguide element fixed between saidbars and having a bore aligned with theaperture in said wall and slidably receiving said rod. and cooperatingwith the aperture in the wall to constrain the rod within a fixedreciprocating path, said rod having a head at one end bearing againstsaid eccentric whereby rotation of said stub shaft will effectreciprocation of said rod, a diaphragm fixed to the opposite end of saidrod and to said head, and said internal wall cooperating with saiddiaphragm to provide a chamber therewith, and check valve means in saidinternal wall for inducting and educting air into and from the chamber.

6. In a priming pump attachment for association with a centrifugal pumphaving a main pump housing and a main drive shaft, said attachmentcomprising a pump frame embodying two elongate side portions and havinga shaft rotatably supported by said side portions transversely of oneendthereof, apump head at the other end of the frame and connected toand across said side portions, a U-shaped yoke coupling said sideportions in overlying relation with said shaft, said pump head includinga movable pumping member and check valved inlet and outlet ports, anelongate pumping member actuating element reciprocably supported by andbetween said side portions, said element being perpendicular to saidshaft and being operatively coupled at one end to the pumping member,the other end of said element terminating adjacent to and in opposedrelation with the shaft, an eccentric Wheel on the shaft positioned forperipheral engagement against the said other end of the pumping memberactuating element and adaptedto apply thrust in one direction to theelement to move the latter in one direction, spring means operativelycoupled with said element and constantly applying thrust thereto inopposition to thrust applied by the eccentric wheel, means connected tosaid yoke for suspending the frame from the main pump housing by saidyoke for swinging movement on a pivot axis parallel to said rotatableshaft, a conduit for connecting said intake passage to said centrifugalpump, and a belt drive coupling between said rotatable shaft and themain drive shaft of the centrifugal pump.

7. In combination, a centrifugal pump having a base frame, a pumphousing having an inlet and an outlet, and a main drive shaft; anelongate bracket secured on and extending laterally from said pumphousing, a priming pump frame, a cross shaft rotatably supported on saidpriming pump frame, said priming pump frame being suspended at one endon the outer end of the bracket and extending laterally from said pumphousing for gravitationally induced shifting movement of said crossshaft toward said main drive shaft, an air exhaust pump on the outer endof said priming pump frame operatively connected to and driven from saidcross shaft, means providing a belt drive connection between said maindrive shaft and said cross shaft, a handle at the outer end of the framefor shifting said priming pump frame to move said cross shaft in adirection to tighten said belt drive connection, said air exhaust pumphaving check-valved inlet and outlet passages, and a flexible conduitconnecting the inlet of said centrifugal pump to said inlet pas sage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,691,128 Redmond Nov. 13, 1928 1,711,803 Munday May 7, 1929 2,612,844Grise Oct. 7, 1952 2,675,762 Share Apr. 20, 1954 2,730,955 Share Jan.17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 435,557 France of 1911 522,117 Germany Mar. 31,1931

